Editing New Zealand Paintball Nationals


'''New Zealand Paintball Nationals''', also known as the '''New Zealand Nationals''', was an annual [[paintball]] tournament championship held in Auckland, New Zealand. It was one of the country's principal competitive paintball events during the 1990s and early 2000s.[1]

The tournament was closely associated with [[Actions Paintball Sports Arena]] and organiser [[Kyn Jackson]]. It attracted teams from across New Zealand and formed part of the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|National Paintball League]] (NPL) First Division calendar.

== History ==

The New Zealand Paintball Nationals was established before the formation of the National Paintball League in 1997. The original NPL incorporated the Nationals alongside the [[Northland Open]] and Queen's Birthday tournament as its three principal First Division events.[1]

During the late 1990s, the Nationals was hosted at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, west Auckland. The facility was operated by Kyn "Action" Jackson, who was closely involved in the development of tournament paintball in New Zealand.

Following the relocation of Actions Paintball from Te Atatū, subsequent championships continued at Auckland venues.

The original NPL structure ended in 1999, but the Nationals continued as an independent tournament. By 2001, the competition was using a seven-player format with separate First Division and Second Division finals.[7]

The contemporary [[Mercenaries Star]] tournament calendar described the Nationals as New Zealand's most widely recognised and best-attended paintball tournament.[8]

== Tournament format ==

The Nationals initially used a five-player centre-flag format, with teams competing to eliminate opponents and capture a centrally positioned flag.

The 1997 championship featured ten-minute games played across natural terrain and constructed tournament fields.[2]

By 2000, the competition included open preliminary rounds followed by separate First Division and Second Division finals.[5][6]

The 2001 Nationals was contested in a seven-player format, reflecting the increasing adoption of larger team formats within New Zealand tournament paintball.[7]

== Championship history ==

=== 1997 ===

The 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals was held on 25–26 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, Auckland.

Eleven teams competed in the five-player centre-flag tournament.

[[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]] won the championship with 1,008 points, followed by Saints Black and Kamo Karzi.[2]

=== 1998 ===

The 1998 Nationals took place on 24–25 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū.

Fourteen teams entered the tournament.

[[Saints Gold]] won the championship with 1,290 points. Paint Contractors finished second with 1,008 points, followed by Saints Grey with 970 points.[3]

The event was among the final major tournaments held at Actions Paintball's Te Atatū facility before its relocation.

=== 1999 ===

The 1999 championship was held on 23–24 October in the Auckland region.

Paint Contractors won the tournament ahead of Saints Gold, according to contemporary tournament reporting by [[Rob Maddox]].[4]

The event took place during the final year of the original National Paintball League structure.

=== 2000 ===

The 2000 Nationals was held on 21–22 October in Auckland.

Saints Gold won the First Division championship, with Grey finishing second.[5]

The Second Division was won by Rotorua-based [[Tag n' Release]], ahead of Phoenix Wellington.

A contemporary Tag n' Release team profile confirms that the team won its Second Division final with 235 points from a possible 400, after recording 655 points from a possible 1,000 in the preliminary round.[6]

=== 2001 ===

The 2001 Nationals was held in Auckland as a seven-player tournament.

The surviving [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database records an open preliminary round followed by separate First Division and Second Division finals.[7]

Documented First Division finalists included Saints Gold, Jetts, Katipo and Flashpoint.

Second Division finalists included TNT, Damage, DamNatives Red and Fusion.

The surviving ranking data does not establish the official championship winners or complete finishing order.

== Selected championship results ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Division
! Winner
! Runner-up
! Third place
|-
| 1997
| Open
| [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]]
| Saints Black
| Kamo Karzi
|-
| 1998
| Open
| [[Saints Gold]]
| Paint Contractors
| Saints Grey
|-
| 1999
| Open
| Paint Contractors
| Saints Gold
| Not confirmed
|-
| 2000
| First Division
| Saints Gold
| Grey
| Not confirmed
|-
| 2000
| Second Division
| [[Tag n' Release]]
| Phoenix Wellington
| Not confirmed
|}

Sources: Contemporary tournament reports by Rob Maddox and the Mercenaries Star team archive.[2][3][4][5][6]

The results above represent individual Nationals tournament placings and should not be confused with the annual Valhalla national team rankings.

== Tournament organisation ==

The Nationals was organised through commercial paintball operators, particularly Actions Paintball Sports Arena.

[[Kyn Jackson]] was associated with the organisation and operation of the championships, while [[Dave Pellet]] was involved in the 1997 event and the establishment of the original National Paintball League.[1][2]

Contemporary reports identify Mike Sawyer as head marshal at the 1998 Nationals, assisted by Aaron Jay.[3]

The 1997 and 1998 tournaments were documented by New Zealand paintball player and writer [[Rob Maddox]], whose reports recorded results, participating teams and tournament administration.

== Historical records ==

Surviving documentation of the Nationals includes contemporary tournament reports published through Paintball.co.nz, results recorded by participating teams and records preserved by [[Mercenaries Star]].

The Valhalla database includes tournament scoring information from the 2001 Nationals, although its calculated national rankings are not equivalent to official championship results.[7][9]

Documentation is incomplete for some editions, and the tournament's full operational history has not been established.

== See also ==

* [[History of paintball in New Zealand]]
* [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)]]
* [[Actions Paintball]]
* [[Northland Open]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]
* [[Mercenaries Star]]

== References ==

# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Leagues/NPLIntro.htm Mercenaries Star - The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League.]
# Rob Maddox, ''1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Transcript preserved in WikiPaintball historical research, October 2026.
# Rob Maddox, ''1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Transcript preserved in WikiPaintball historical research, October 2026.
# Rob Maddox, ''1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Historical report transcription.
# Rob Maddox, ''2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Historical report transcription.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Mercenaries Star - Tag n' Release Team Profile, contributed by Russell Clement, April 2001.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla National Rankings, 2001.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Mercenaries Star - Annual Tournament Events, 2001.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla National Rankings Methodology.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/ Mercenaries Star archived website]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Archived 2001 national rankings and tournament data]

[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball history]]
[[Category:1990s in paintball]]
[[Category:2000s in paintball]]